Deacon

by Nicholas Bella

  I had no comforting words to give him. The past weeks had been a whirlwind for me and I was still reeling from it all. I still didn’t feel at home in America and sleeping in a tent until our home was built left me more than a little agitated. I did not want to attend this meeting, but had no choice.

  “What do you think they will ask of us, Alpha?” Royce asked.

  Julie turned to look at him. “I have no idea. This is all new to me, Royce. What do you think they will ask of us?”

  “That we do not issue any Declarations of Challenges, ma’am,” he said.

  “We are not strong enough to do so anyway,” Julie stated. “We are in no position to make any demands.”

  “Nor should we simply bow down to all of theirs, ma’am,” Royce argued.

  Julie’s gaze hardened. “I will do what I think is best for my pack.”

  Royce lowered his head. “Of course, Alpha.”

  I watched the exchange, but kept my opinion to myself. We continued to discuss what was best for our pack concerning our new territory, so we had a better plan when we returned. It took us a full day to reach the location with us camping overnight. The place wasn’t anything special. A simple cabin in the middle of the woods. There were other carriages stationed around the building, which meant the other Alphas were already waiting. We disembarked and entered the wooden cottage and stopped in the doorway. In the middle of the room was a large, round table made of oak. At the table were the four other Alphas that controlled this state, those who decided to grant us sanctuary.

  Their gazes were not without scrutiny as they took in our appearance. We were all dressed in our best. I was wearing my pants with riding boots, a vest, button-down shirt and jacket, the high quality of British fashion. Our Alpha was wearing what looked to be several layers of clothes befitting a woman of status. Her corset had her breasts sitting up on her chest, and they were decorated with a silk scarf for modesty and an emerald necklace. The other males were dressed as I was, as a gentleman would be dressed.

  As I looked at the other Alphas, all but one was dressed in what I assumed was the highest quality in American fashion, not too different from our British fashion, perhaps a few less layers. There was an Alpha of Asian heritage that wore clothes from his native Japan. His outfit looked to be the most comfortable out of all of the garments, if I was being honest. The one Alpha who shocked me the most looked to be a boy, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. The aura I got from him was not one of a natural-born wolf. I didn’t even know a bitten wolf could become an Alpha. Maybe he was mated to one and inherited the position as Julie had from Connor. I was curious.

  “Please, take a seat,” said the one female wolf amongst the males.

  “Thank you,” Julie said and walked closer to the table.

  We followed her and stood behind her quietly, and we weren’t the only wolves who’d accompanied their Alphas to this meeting. Each Alpha had at least two other wolves with them, all standing behind their Alphas with serious looks on their faces. The tension in the cottage was thick enough to cut with a sword and as I looked around, I noticed there weren’t any other piece of furnishings in the cottage. Just the table and chairs. I guessed that was to add to the atmosphere that this wasn’t a friendly place; to not make one’s self too comfortable. This was going to be an interesting meeting, I was sure.

  “Do you know why you are here?” asked the male Alpha of Asian descent.

  “Perhaps, we should start with introductions,” suggested a male Alpha with blond hair and blue eyes that didn’t quite look as cruel or judgmental as the others.

  The Asian Alpha only sighed and made an offhanded gesture as if allowing the other Alpha to proceed with what he deemed unnecessary. “Make them, then.”

  The blond Alpha smirked and looked at Julie. “The rude one here is Akio Takeda, Alpha of the Pineleaf territory,” he said, motioning to the pretty Asian Alpha. “The lovely lady to my right is Selena Ortega, Alpha of the Rose Garden territory.”

  “Charmed,” Selena said.

  The blond Alpha winked at Selena, then turned to the next Alpha. “Our newest Alpha—”

  “I can make my own introduction,” interjected the child-like Alpha with a distinguished Russian accent.

  “Very well,” said the blond who’d yet to introduce himself. Supposed he was saving his for last.

  “My name is Josef Astor, Alpha of the River Rock Territory. Please do not make the mistake of assuming I am a child simply because I have the appearance of one. That is my only word of advice,” Josef warned.

  The blond Alpha cocked an eyebrow and cleared his throat. “I am Benjamin Eastland, Alpha of the Lakeview territory.”

  Julie nodded. “I am Julie McGregor, Alpha of the…” she paused, because we were no longer known as the McGregor-London pack, having lost our London territory to the dragons.

  “You are in new territory now, my dear. You may give your territory and pack a new name,” Benjamin said.

  “Thank you,” Julie said. “I am very grateful to the four of you for allowing us sanctuary,” she said in her most gracious tone.

  “Your letter was vague on details regarding the loss of your territory. Care to elaborate?” Josef asked.

  Julie swallowed, then offered a sweet smile. “A challenge issued that did not end in our success.”

  “Apparently, and that was the vagueness I was referring to,” Josef snapped.

  “I would have to second my fellow Alpha in his concern. I, too, would like to know how you lost your former territory. Leaving a whole country is a rather drastic step,” Akio stated.

  “Need I remind you that you don’t have sanctuary yet. It is contingent on this meeting if we can move forward. Now is not the time to show pride where it is obvious that you have been humbled,” Josef added, and I wanted to rip his heart from his chest. I had to suppress the growl that I wanted to release to warn the impish Alpha that he was crossing the line by speaking to my Alpha with such disrespect. I hoped Julie wouldn’t take the verbal abuse passively.

  Julie squared her shoulders. “I would reckon that you would understand our dire situation. As I will explain, our former territory was being encroached upon by dragons. Over the years, they had moved closer to our borders. It was of the mind of my husband to attack first, if only to warn the dragons to stay away. But we did have hopes of killing them and taking over their territory.”

  “Dragons are a tricky foe,” Selena said, and I could hear a bit of compassion in her tone.

  Julie nodded. “We went from a pack of nearly four-thousand wolves to only the hundred and twenty-three I wrote to you about in my letter. We had to seek new territory as the dragons did not give us time to petition for territory in Great Britain. I was able to send letters to your ambassadors before we set sail and upon landing in New York. You four were the only Alphas that offered us sanctuary.”

  After speaking, the four Alphas were quiet. Even Josef, the one with such bluster, seemed to feel for our loss. The tension in the room died down… just a little.

  “To have lost your mate… you have my condolences,” Selena said and reached over, covering Julie’s gloved hand with her own as a show of the sympathy I thought she was feeling.

  “Thank you,” Julie said, then swallowed. I knew she was trying to keep from crying. It wasn’t easy for any wolf to admit defeat, but to have to admit it on such a grand scale, having lost everything… even I didn’t want to think about it.

  “Your current situation is most unfortunate,” Josef said.

  “Indeed,” Akio echoed. “Let us move forward. Our territory is also on the verge of enemies unknown to us.”

  “We once had a pact with the vampire who presided over it, Alexander. He was defeated by an army combined of vampires and dragons,” Benjamin said.

  “Most unorthodox,” Josef added.

  “They took it over and divided that amongst themselves. It was at that point, we four agreed to cease our differences. If we are attacked
, we must act as one pack, not each for themselves. If the vampires and dragons attack one of us, they attack all of us. You must swear an oath to join this Treaty of Alliance,” Akio said.

  “Who are the new rulers of that land?” Julie asked.

  “A vampire King by the name of Ara and a dragon King by the name of Evander. Rumor is that the vampire King has a vampire in his kingdom that is also a dragon. Théoden—something or other,” Akio said, waving his hand to dismiss the vampire’s name.

  “If that is true, then it is easy to see why the two have worked together,” Julie stated.

  Selena scoffed. “Hardly. Dragons detest abominations like this Théoden. A half-breed like him should have been killed on sight. The fact that he lived to become a vampire only proves that their alliance was before he came to be.”

  “Regardless, we have to remain united, because their very presence is a threat to us,” Benjamin stated.

  “I will gladly take the oath,” Julie said.

  “Don’t be so rash, my dear, for you have not heard our own stipulations,” Josef said.

  Julie tilted her head. “Stipulations?”

  “It’s only a precaution as you are new to us. We don’t fully know your intentions, so therefore, we have stipulations on how quickly you may regrow your pack,” Selena said.

  Julie scoffed. “You speak to me about concerns regarding the vampires and dragons across the border. Wouldn’t it be imperative for me to grow my pack as quickly as possible?”

  “And say that you do? Who’s to say that you will not go back on your word?” Josef said.

  “Wolves do crave territory and we need to make sure you can maintain yours without coveting ours,” Akio added.

  “Ridiculous,” I cursed under my breath and unfortunately gained the ire of the Alphas sitting around the table.

  “You’re an Alpha, if you lack the ability to silence that one,” Josef said, “I’ll rip out his tongue myself.”

  I shifted and Julie held her hand up. “He will keep his mouth closed or I will rip out his tongue and feed it to him before you.”

  The threat to my person coming from my Alpha… to be honest… didn’t sit well with me. It wasn’t the same as a threat coming from Connor. Julie was far younger than me and if I had not taken her to meet Connor and had rather made her a whore in my brothel instead, perhaps we wouldn’t even be here. Still, she was my Alpha and I had to obey.

  “My apologies, Alphas,” I said, then lowered my head as a show of subservience and kept my mouth shut.

  They all gave me a warning look before returning to their conversation.

  “So, how many wolves am I allowed to make?” Julie asked.

  “No more than a hundred in this first century,” Akio said.

  “So, by the turn of this century, I will have two-hundred and twenty-three wolves?”

  They all nodded.

  “That is the price you must accept if you are to take sanctuary in this territory and build your own,” Josef said.

  Julie appeared to mull it over for a few seconds before nodding. “I accept.”

  “Good. Now, we must conduct the oath,” Selena said. “Repeat after me with your right hand over your heart.”

  Julie placed her right hand over her heart.

  “‘I… state your name… swear to protect this land with my life and the lives of the wolves in my pack. For an enemy to one is an enemy to all, and as one pack, we will eliminate our enemies from all directions. To betray this oath, to turn on this treaty, is to forfeit my life and the lives of my pack wolves. Now, repeat,” Selena said.

  “I, Julie McGregor, swear to protect this land…” Julie began and finished the oath having memorized it perfectly.

  The other Alphas seemed please and all rose as did Julie. “Welcome, Alpha of the…” they paused, allowing her to name her new territory.

  “Red Blossom Territory,” Julie supplied, which nearly made me roll my eyes. Leave it to a woman to name a pack of bloodthirsty wolves something as dainty as a fucking Red Blossom or Rose Garden.

  “Welcome, Julie McGregor, Alpha of the Red Blossom Territory,” the Alphas said in unison.

  “Thank you,” Julie smiled.

  “This meeting is now adjourned,” Akio said, then he walked off with very little flair.

  Josef was the second to leave as if he couldn’t wait to be out of our presence. He did make sure to toss me a look of disdain before departing. Selena gave Julie a smile before leaving and only Benjamin kissed the back of Julie’s hand like a gentleman should have.

  “Take care how you choose your new wolves, my dear,” Benjamin said.

  “I will, thank you.”

  He nodded, released her hand, and left. Julie turned to me once all Alphas and their accompanying wolves had vacated the cottage. I opened my mouth to apologize again for speaking out of turn, but before I could do so, she backhanded me hard across the jaw, snapping my head back.

  “Are you out of your mind insulting them? Do you even comprehend how dire our situation is? You foolish man!” she snapped at me.

  I tasted my own blood in my mouth and swallowed it before I spoke. “I was out of line, I know, Alpha. It was their disrespect to you that angered me so.”

  “I don’t need you to speak for me, Deacon. I can speak for myself. I am putting the safety of this pack first, making sure we have a secure place to call home. You will never undermine me again, do you understand? I will have you beheaded if you dare to challenge me on this,” Julie warned.

  For the first time ever, I was looking at her as a threat that an Alpha could be. Connor would have punished me with something harsher than a slap to my face. Still, I didn’t take kindly to being reprimanded in front of other wolves, nor did I appreciate the threat upon my life. Unfortunately, I was not in a position to argue with my Alpha, so I dropped to one knee, head bowed.

  “I will never step out of line with you, Alpha,” I said.

  She huffed and walked past me with Graham and Hector at her side. I rose, and only Royce was looking at me with an eyebrow arched.

  “Not very wise of you, Deacon,” he said.

  I dabbed the blood from my bottom lip with my handkerchief and looked at the table the Alphas once occupied. “A slip of the tongue, not to be repeated.”

  Royce chuckled. “I would hope not. Come.” He put his arm around my shoulder and together, we left the cottage and climbed into our carriage. To say that the ride back to our territory wasn’t a pleasant one would be an understatement. At least, we had a territory to return to. Little victories.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  A Seed Is Planted

  Almost fifty years had passed since the day we solidified our pack’s place in this new territory. I’d gotten quite used to this new American way of life. One of the things that changed for me was I now had a second wife. I’d married Sanese within the first year upon landing in America. Julie, as Alpha, had to give her blessing, and it didn’t come without resentment that I would dare marry another whilst with Charlene. The two women were still friends of a sort, though their relationship had strained since the days when you couldn’t separate them. In any case, Julie felt I should have just fucked Sanese when the mood struck me, but have kept Charlene as my only wife. For me, any woman who I fucked could one day bear my child. I would never have a bastard.

  Charlene understood this and gave little protest as she knew I wanted a family. We’d been married for a hundred and fifty years and were still without younglings. I only had to promise Charlene that she would always be my first wife, put on a pedestal. Sanese was younger and quite frisky. Fortunately for me, I had the stamina to keep both of my wives satisfied even if I had to bed them separately as Charlene made me promise that she would never have to share my time with another. Meaning, no group sex sessions with her. Sanese, well… she was different and didn’t mind if I brought in another woman or man to join us. Of course, my cock would be the only one to enter her, no other. Ours was a relationship tha
t worked well for me.

  As for the pack, we had been able to grow it by fifty wolves. Many were former slaves who had managed to escape the south to flee north for a new start. Needless to say, they jumped at the opportunity to never have to worry about being a slave again. Not to mention, having the power to kill any white person who dared to enslave them. With our pack being low on wolves, to gain so many strong and well-skilled humans willing join us helped us prosper.

  Of course, times were changing, and fast. I, for one, enjoyed the modern fashions and technologies. Another thing I took a fancy to was tobacco, I loved the flavor. My wives surely appreciated the iron oven I’d purchased, making cooking easier. That and the spinning wheel. Though Charlene didn’t care for Sanese past tolerating her presence, I knew she appreciated having Sanese around to help with the chores. My home, which took longer to build, had seven bedrooms. One I shared with Charlene, Sanese had her own, and one was turned into a nursery. I had fifty acres of land of which we hunted on whenever the mood struck us. Elliot visited quite often and his own home was less than a mile away. We had grown close in all that time and he had earned a worthy reputation in our pack as a man to be reckoned with. Even wolves who were older than Elliot respected him. He was my proudest recruit.

  ~*~

  “Did you hear the latest rumor?” Elliot asked me as he took a swig of his whiskey. The drink being one of his favorites, right up there with beer.

  I puffed on my pipe and cocked an eyebrow. “What rumor?” I asked. Elliot spent a lot of time hanging out with the pack, more than I did. So, he got to hear more of the regular gossip that circulated throughout the pack.

  “Rumor is that members of the pack are going to petition Royce to challenge Julie for the position of Alpha,” Elliot said. “Has Royce expressed interest?”

  I took another puff of my pipe and shrugged. “He hasn’t not expressed interest. I don’t believe he’s ever truly forgiven Julie for his parents’ death.”